1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooling systems, and particularly to cooling systems for amphibious vehicles and the like where cooling air must be drawn in and ejected from the same side of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional vehicular cooling systems have a radiator and a fan placed in front of the vehicle, with air being drawn through the radiator by the fan and ejected to the rear of the fan. In some situations, e.g., with boats and amphibious vehicles, this technique will not work. Air is available only above the vehicle and can be ejected easily only above the vehicle. Similarly, in some military applications, the threat of enemy weapons requires armor shielding on all sides of the vehicle, so that air may only be drawn in and ejected through the top of the vehicle. The cooling systems for such vehicles therefore must be designed to draw in and eject cooling air through the top of the vehicle.
In addition, in various military conditions due to various vehicle design parameters, the only possible position for the cooling system is immediately above the engine and/or transmission.
The Marine Corps' LVTPX12 Amphibious Assault Vehicle has such a cooling system. In that vehicle, the engine, radiator, cooling fan and transmission are assembled as a single unit for installation in the vehicle. Unfortunately, whenever maintenance or repair procedures are required, the entire power plant, cooling fan, and radiator must be removed from the vehicle, since the fan and radiator obstruct access to the engine. While this is annoying and time-consuming in a maintenance shop, in a battlefield situation, it is impossible. The only alternative is to dismantle the radiator and cooling fan to gain access to the engine. It then becomes necessary to recharge the cooling system, which is difficult or impossible under battlefield conditions. In addition, many engines problems cannot be detected or corrected without the cooling system intact so that the engine can run.